topic Re: How to stop Spotify from starting on login on macOS in Desktop (Mac)

How to stop Spotify from starting on login on macOS

udance4ever — Mon, 19 Dec 2022 23:56:01 GMT

hi! this is the same question as this one but because it’s marked as solved and the solution doesn’t work for me, I’m posting it again.

I’ve double checked:

1) I have no “login items” for my user in the Users & Groups pref pane
2) when I right click the Spotify icon in the dock, “start at login” (or whatever is) is not checked
3) I didn’t check “reopen apps” when I logout

This is driving me nuts too as to what’s starting Spotify on startup.

Anyone else having this issue or know how to stop Spotify from starting automatically?

I’m on macOS Monterey (not in front of my desktop, applied the update that was available as of Dec 14, 2022 so very recent in the last week)

Re: How to stop Spotify from starting on login on macOS

Yordan — Wed, 21 Dec 2022 08:24:16 GMT

Hi there @udance4ever!

Have you tried preventing Spotify from launching on startup directly from the app's Settings? Just click on your profile in the top right corner > Settings > Startup and window behavior and set Open Spotify automatically after you log into the computer to No.

Hope this helps. Cheers!

Re: How to stop Spotify from starting on login on macOS

FredN — Mon, 20 Oct 2025 05:50:51 GMT

My settings are the same as those of udance4ever and I have the Spotify app set to "No" under "Open Spotify automatically . . . " but it still opens every time I turn on my Macbook.

How do I stop this?

Re: How to stop Spotify from starting on login on macOS

Ivelina — Mon, 20 Oct 2025 07:17:05 GMT

Hey @FredN,

Thanks for posting in the thread and for making sure you've toggled the right settings within the app.

If you've not already done this, go to System Settings > General > Login Items & Extensions and if Spotify is listed under Open at Login, select it and click on the minus button in order to remove it. After this action, it's a good idea to restart your MacBook.

Should the issue persist after these steps, you can also go for a clean reinstall to ensure there aren't any corrupted cached files causing the misbehavior. You can follow the steps here.

Let us know how it goes.

Re: How to stop Spotify from starting on login on macOS

FredN — Mon, 20 Oct 2025 08:08:30 GMT

Hi Ivelina

Thank you for replying so quickly. I did what you said and it worked! (no surprise).

It's not that I don't like Spotify or use Spotify, I just like to start up my Macbook without apps opening. I'm sort of a control freak.

Thank you again,

Fred

Re: How to stop Spotify from starting on login on macOS

VeeP — Tue, 06 Jan 2026 23:28:58 GMT

I have the same issue and I only have the option of Login Items, and Spotify doesn't appear in the list.

Re: How to stop Spotify from starting on login on macOS

MihailY — Wed, 07 Jan 2026 09:23:57 GMT

Hey @VeeP,

Thanks for joining the thread.

Just to double-check, have you made sure that Open Spotify automatically after you log in to the computer is set to No in your Spotify app settings and you've performed a clean reinstall of the app as described here?

If yes, and the issue persists, let us know your current OS version and Spotify app version, so we can investigate further.

Cheers,